Essay of the Week: Ed Cyzewski convinces himself that Jesus was more like a monk than a modern day Evangelical. If you prefer your Jesus more Baptist that Trappist, this article might give you cloister-phobia. (Okay, that last sentence was mine, not his; the article is better than that.)(Still, it was pretty good, don’t you think?)

Older readers may remember a Christian rock band called Arkangel. Found out on the weekend that Kemper Crabb has a book with the Howard imprint of Simon & Schuster. Liberation Front releases this month.

Today (March 23rd) is the one day a year when Jehovah’s Witnesses have the equivalent of communion, and most don’t actually participate. Found that last night in the middle of this article about JW terminology and ideas not found in scripture.

Not Making This Up Department: “Justin Bieber is building a church. The non-denominational mega church is to be built in Tallahassee, Florida in cooperation with pastors in the area. Justin is reported to have chosen Tallahassee because of the ‘incredible faith’ of its residents.”

…Meanwhile in England, “Several parents have vowed to withdraw their children [as young as four] from a Church of England primary school in Hartfield, East Sussex, during an upcoming ‘transgender day’…Children at St Mary the Virgin Primary School will attend classes designed to ‘empower lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people‘.

Television (1): “Black people (at least the ones I know) do not watch Little House on the Prairie… I live in Southeast Washington, D.C., where the population is 94% black. WatchingLittle Housein “the hood” is a bit of an anomaly.”

Television (2): Picked up the 2013 autobiography from former Mary Tyler Moore Show and Love Boat actor Gavin MacLeod and while I don’t normally read this type of book, something compelled me to keep turning the pages of the appropriately titled, This is Your Captain Speaking.

A Time magazine article says kids need to learn about religion earlier after an incident where “Last weekend during a basketball playoff game, roughly 50 to 75 fans of a Catholic high school in Boston chanted: ‘You Killed Jesus’ at the opposing side, a suburban school with many Jewish students…”recommending this teaching start in Kindergarten.

It’s still over 3 months away, but I’m already looking forward to reading Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why it’s Killing Us by Shane Claiborne. Scroll down to check out the endorsements for this important book.

Instagram of the Week: Maybe this will change your image of rich megachurch pastors. Sandra Stanley writes, “He’s preached his heart out all day. I love to make him something special on Sunday nights…” In the same meal she also scalded the tomato soup and had to start that over as well.

Are some people taking Twitter too seriously? Yes, yes they are. My knowledge of Beth Moore extends to recognize her name when I see it on book covers. I think my wife has a couple. The people reacting to her Tweet with comments like “A mature teacher of the Bible would not use the Lord’s name in vain” strike me as the Pharisaical types. They would probably write sharply worded blog posts if they saw the disciples eat without washing their hands or David and his men eating the showbread. Safe to say they don’t follow Coffee with Jesus or read any Happy Monday posts.